Besides constructing groynes in all coastal hamlets of the district to protect villages from sea erosion, the State government should deploy high-speed patrol boats to protect country boat fishermen from mechanised boats that invade into the prohibited zones, fishermen appealed to the Collector.
Raising this issue at the fishermen grievances redressal meet held in Radhapuram on Thursday, the fishermen said all 13 coastal hamlets of Tirunelveli district were facing intense sea erosion during the windy season between June and September every year. The problem would worsen whenever gusty wind lashed the coastal region.
Besides damaging the boats, the advancing heavy tides also damage the buildings close to the shoreline in the past. Hence, the government should construct groynes in all coastal villages, they said. “After the groynes were constructed in the sea adjoining the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) and the Udangudi Thermal Power Station, these new structures that had come-up inside the sea are facilitating sea erosion in nearby areas. Hence, groynes should be constructed in all coastal villages in the district,” said fisherman Sathish of Kooththenkuzhi.
Chairing the meeting, Collector K.P. Karthikeyan assured them that steps would be taken within a month to construct groynes based on the guidelines of National Green Tribunal. The fishermen, after narrating the life-threatening problems they are facing from the mechanized boats that intrude into to the ‘prohibited zone’ of five nautical miles from the shoreline for fishing, appealed to Dr. Karthikeyan to recommend to the government to deploy patrol boats at the boundary separating the prohibited zone and the high-seas where the mechanised boats are supposed to carryout fishing.
“We, besides losing our boats and fishnets to the mechanised boats invading into the area, have lost many lives in the past to this brazen violation, which cannot be stopped even after repeated talks between both sides. If patrol boats are deployed at the boundary, it will act as deterrent to this violation,” said the fishermen. They also complained about scam in giving subsidised kerosene for the country boats. While assuring the fishermen of due steps for curbing scam in fuel distribution, the fisheries department officials said the assistance of ₹5,000 meant for annual fishing ban period would be disbursed before May-end.